The Psalms constituted the hymnbook of the early church, and no finer example of religious fervor and devotion and literary excellence can be found in the lyrics of any people.

Although the author of the Psalms is usually referred to as David, that great poet and musician is by critics credited with considerably less than half of the one hundred and fifty hymns that appear in the Bible.

Psalm means "lyric," and the heading of each indicates to the musician what attitude of devotion should precede its rendition. "Selah" is the most